The Aftermath
by lyra0the0white
Summary: After all the trouble, finally there is a little peace. How will Ichigo and Rukia work out their issues after their time apart? Set after the current arc in the manga. No spoilers, but it might change in later chapters. IchiRuki


_**AN:**_ Ok, so this is my first try at muti-chaptered fanfiction, I have no idea how this will come out. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

I already have an idea about what I want to write in later chapters (I'm thinking there will be 2 more if everything goes as planned) but I have no idea when I'll have time to write again, so please, bear with me.

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The fight<strong>

It was a fine day in Karakura town. It was a typical spring afternoon, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, but even though there was no evidence of something being out of place, Ichigo was overpowered with a sense of dread as he was reading his book.

"Ichigo!" he heard just before the midget shinigami barged in his room. It was just Rukia, why this feeling of impending doom?

"I'm going to soul society, I have to-"

"I'm coming too. I've nothing better to do anyway." Rukia chose to ignore him.

"I have to report in how things have evolved since I've been stationed here." She explained

"I'm coming too." Ichigo repeated.

It had been a while since they had a fight like this. Rukia didn't know if she still got the hang of it. Anyway, she prepared herself for what she knew was coming. "No, you're not"

"Why not?" he got off of his bed and walked to her. He stood high in front of her and glared down at her.

"Because it's just a report! It won't take more than a day!" she exclaimed exasperated, glaring right back at him.

"I'm coming" he said, now daring her to say otherwise.

Rukia breathed once, twice. She calmed herself and thought better to handle the problem rationally. "Why do you need to come so badly?" she dropped the glare but her eye twitched anyway.

He stopped glaring too, encouraged by her sudden calm tone "If you can recall as clearly as me, you might see the pattern that all the times you left to soul society something huge happened. Surely you can see that nothing good will come out of it. I might as well be with you."

Rukia could tell there was something else behind Ichigo's sudden need to accompany her to Soul Society, but she didn't dwell on it. To be truly honest to herself, she had to admit he had a point… He did seem to get in trouble more easily when she wasn't around… but still…

She took another breath "Ichigo" she tried with all her might to keep her voice even. "I'll have to report every month from now on. Are you trying to say that you'll want to tag along every single time?"

"If that's what it takes, yes. I'm not letting you out of my sight" he said as if stating the most obvious thing in the world.

Rukia lost her patience, she was no child that needed to be taken care of. His overprotectiveness was going too far. The glare was back and she was already preparing one of her physical attacks.

"Ichigo! If I have to go that often to soul society it's because of you! You couldn't just get on with your life, you had to get involved with people you knew nothing about, start training for something having no idea what consequences would come of it and almost get yourself killed in the process. You've been classified as 'instable' by the Monitoring Department. Everyone thinks you might go on rampage at any moment now! And it's me, the one that spent the most time with you who has to babysit you! If you step out of line you'll be considered a traitor in Soul Society faster than you can say 'Hollow's coming', and trust me, if it was anyone else staying here, you wouldn't be able to sneeze without it going on the reports."

Ichigo glared down at her again "Oh yeah? I couldn't care less about any of those things, and you know why? Because you have no idea how it was like for me, those 17 months without my powers! You left and you never came back even once for over a year! If your intention was to make me feel guilty, then you're barking at the wrong tree! If it meant I could see you again, I would do it all over again!" Rukia forgot every intention she had of hitting him, she hadn't expected such an outburst from him. The glare he was sending her way was fierce, but hearing his words, she noticed that behind that glare was hurt too. But he suddenly grinned, the most evil grin she'd seen in him. "You don't want to take me? Go ahead, I'll go on rampage faster than you'll set foot in Seireitei."

Ichigo waited for her smart comeback or the punch he noticed she was prepared to deliver, but it never came. Instead, she just stared blankly at him. She only now realized how hurt he was from what she'd done.

He held her gaze in defiance, daring her to say anything about it. She didn't.

Rukia broke eye contact and lowered her head, shadowing her eyes in the process. "I'll make the arrangements necessary. I'll tell you when you have to be ready."

The sudden change took Ichigo by surprise. He reached out to make her look at him again but she turned around and left the room.

"Rukia!" but by the time he finally registered what had just happened it was too late.

She didn't return to his room for the remainder of the afternoon. During dinner, she would usually play along with his family antics, but today she was quiet. When she asked to be excused early Ichigo knew something was up. He would never admit it, but he was worried.

Thinking back, he realized he preferred when Rukia hit him. It meant he was being an idiot, but it also meant that it would soon be water under the bridge. This was new ground he didn't know how to walk through.

TBC


End file.
